the funny thing about this expressionthis expression is not in response to the BIG SHOT ridethis expression is just the standard response to the statement that was just uttered...."hey... next week at this time you will be married!"the ride was relaxing after that taste of reality

The Stratosphere:among the list of highlights from our Vegas Adventure,The Stratosphere ranks high along side the "all you can eat" buffet at Cravingsthe rides were awesome....the four rides each had their valueif I were to go back... I would re-order them-High Roller-X-Scream-INSANITYand then-BIG SHOTthen BIG SHOT againthat ride is a rushwhat is so great about that photo is the expressions on each person's faceI may not look as scared as I am in that photothat pose was held and locked for 5 minutes waiting for the ride to startthe BIG SHOT is a Thrill and a Half.... it is so scary that it is comical

not everyone wants to have an epic mountain bike adventure with the folks from Escape Adventuresbut everyone should ride these rides at the Stratospherethe view is awesomethe rides are a rush

one warning...we rode the rides on an empty stomach soberI recommend the same

tip-as I will never grow updon't ask me to hold your cameradon't leave your camera sitting aroundthe temptation is too great for me to controlin this modern age of digital photography it is a tad less obnoxioussnoopy left his camera in the roomso when I went to bed earlier then the rest of the folks in our group... well... he got a little pictorialthis was just one of the shotsbutyou get the basic ideaperhaps I should have used the timerbutthe mirror and the extended arm shots tend to be my favorite

belligerent drunkthere is this guyhe is a friend of a friendwe are friendsneither on the other's A listfriends just the same

he is a good guyyet at parties he roams around all loud and obnoxioushis train of thought in conversation is somewhat randomat times he is moderately aggressive and in people's faceit is really quite a performance

my main issue with his behavior is that he is not actually a belligerent drunkafter all he is clean and soberI can not recall what he was like when he was a drunk before he stopped drinkingnow I just feel like giving him the old.... "I need to go to the bathroom" or "I need to get another drink"thinking he will forgetbutas he is not drunk he will not forget

is his behavior forgivable?we forgive the antics of someone who has had one too manythe lampshade on the headthe dancing on the barthe public urinationthe awkwardness of hitting on the boss' wife or better yet the boss' daughter

Mountain Biking in VEGAS!as mentioned before I was hesitant about a trip to Vegasin addition to the expense of this tripthere was also hesitation due to the whole "what happens in Vegas.... stays in Vegas" ad campaignso... in an effort to keep myself honest I arranged that a few of us on this trip would go mountain bikingcertainly the thought of an afternoon in the hot desert sun would get us to bed earlier and keep us from ordering those last few unneeded drinks

the only other taker on the Vegas Mountain Bike Adventure was my college buddy and co-bestman Snoopy (aka Kevin... a name he started using in his quasi-adult life... still Snoopy to me)which was fine... as it was not a free adventure and the less waiting the better

the trip was booked through a company called Escape Adventuresthere was one other rider aside from Snoopy and myselfwe were skeptical of his skills... but he was traveling with his own pedals which says something and the tour company assured us that he was confident with his technical abilities

the Escape Adventure company picked us up at our hotel with a fleet of Santa Cruz Blurs on top of the white van with Escape logo painted on the sidethe third member of our ride was already in his gear riding shotgunhe was in his early 50's but clearly looked fitwe drove the 45 minutes off the strip to Red Rocks Canyon

it was good to get off the stripas mentioned previously the Vegas Strip does not make any sense until the sun setsthere is plenty of shopping to be done for those that seek out such thingssuch things do not entertain methere is also the pool.... but more pale middle age folk than bronze beautiesno need to spend my time thereso spending an afternoon on the bike fit into my desires perfectly

we were scheduled for pickup at one in the afternoonour driver/guide arrived on timenothing shy of professional.... not the rusty 1971 VW van I had expectedwe loaded up our gear and jumped into the vanmy heart started to race and energy began to build even before I opened up my can of Red Bullour driver/guide, Chad, was a transplant from Minnesotaour fellow 51 year old tourist was from Michiganmost certainly Chad never knows what to expect from his riders on these day tourswe talked about our desires and our abilities as we drove out of downtown through the rapidly growing sprawl which is Las Vegas

in our discussion I made it clear that I would enjoy technical but was not looking for any "major drop offs"sold myself as a fast sport rider or a slow expert with no boastingthere was some talk of recent racesthe other riders gave ideas of what they were looking for on this dayeveryone being humbleeveryone under selling themselvse

once at the trailhead I suited up in my gearafter pounding my can or Red Bull and popping a few E-Caps I was suited up in head to toe City Bikes gear and ready to ridethis was to be my innagural ride with the new City Bikes jersey... flames and all

I went to the top of the first rise to releave my bladder as the others finished getting ready

Chad was on his single speedthe three of us were on tour provided full suspension Santa Cruz Blurs

there was a gradual grade at the startthen it moved into a slight descentthat would be the tone of the daymoderate up and moderate downa roller coaster ride through the deserta path meandering between cacti and a wide variety of other prickly plants whose names do not knowin the distance we were surrounded by a variety of mountains and various mesasit pleased me that we went around the mesas and not so near the mountainsthe roller coaster was far more appealing to me than a long steady mountain climbalthough I never mind a screaming down hill

it was good to have Chad as our guidehe worked well as a pace vehiclealways giving a little forewarning to obstacles, barriers, and change in gradeour pace was briskbut not hectictoo fast on the soft squishy bike was sure to slide off the soft squishy trailrunning off trail would certainly end up in a prickley mess comical to allwell... comical to all other than the human pin cushion

there were moments of serious smilesafter warming up and getting a feel for the bike and the earth beneith me I really enjoyed myselfit is always great to get out on the bikethe trails were awesomethere was desert wildlife swarming around mehummingbirds, well birdsome ground birds... maybe a quail of sortssome desert lizardsas far as plantsall sorts of interesting desert plants.... all of them prickleysome of which got stuck in my legwhile others just stabbed me in my arm

at one point we had a unintentional breather when Mike from Michigan had some pedal/cleat issueswe managed to set things right and get back on the trail after a little hasslenothing that tarnished the dayas such things are all part of mountain biking

the three hours of riding went by pretty fastthe desert sun was not as brutal as we fearedactually with the breeze it was rather pleasant

late in the ride both Mike and Chad flatted outit was so close to the end that they continued riding rather than breaking for the repairbummer for Mike as the final miles were a bit of a rush

the ride left me wanting morethe loop was described as an Intermediate/Expert loophaving ridden with Chad on this set of trails I wished I had booked him for another dayas he knew a little more of my capabilities and could certainly take me to some alternate loops that may have offered a tad more technicalthat is not to say there were not technical sectionsthere were many.... most of which I had to stall on or dab on as the trail was unfamilarandthe desert terrain is not my native riding ground thus offering a different set of riddles to solve

it was an awesome rideChad was an awesome guidehe was mellow and fasta great combinationa guy who loves to ride and does not mind getting paid for it

it worked out well linking up with the third riderMike definitely held his ownthere were never any worries that he was over his headas he was fast and steady on the bike

if you are headed to Vegas and you love to mountainbikecontact Escape Adventuresyou may want to request Chadbut I am confident that all of their guides are equally as qualified and equally as cool

Red Rock Canyonthese trails would be great not only for ridingbut also for the elite trail runnerthe runner would want to do a shorter loopbut the vistas and views would make it worth whileoh... one last thing... wear amber lenses... the desert is always more beautiful with the amber lensesChad called them Prozac Shades

Chevy Chase's Trash or Treasure-so....after counting the loot and debating with the notion of doing another drive through Chevy Chase, Maryland's biannual Trash or Treasure day I opted not to collect any more trash for my basementthe Tiny Tikes toy work bench is a hitthe Stan Smith tennis racket is making the young tennis stars I always dreamed of raisingthe trail a bike is another bike to step over in my basementthere is no need for any leaky aquariums or fish bowls

after reviewing in my head what remainedthe odds of a decent bicycle still sitting on the curb seemed slimthe imagry had me thinking about a few other things...I thought about all of the computers and monitors I saw in these piles of trashso I called the Town of Chevy Chase's offices and spoke to a few peopleleft a messagethensent an email to restate that such things are not to be collected as trashwith that I sent a link to Montgomery County's computer recycling optionsno... I am not a do gooderI am someone who tries to do what everyone should dothe basics to keeping the world safe and clean for a livable tomorrow

this was not blowing the whistle or even telling someone what to doit was just a matter of opening their eyes to the situationthey were aware of the rules... they had informed the neigborhood of the guidelines of what should be placed on the curbbutthey did not drive through after people set stuff out for collection perhaps they should have trash and recycling pick up for these eventsas there most certainly will be other hazardous waste in addition to the computers and monitors

last week I went to Vegas for a bachelor party...honestly… the "what happens in Vegas…. stays in Vegas" ad campaign had me a little worriedit all turned out to be some good clean fun... here is the tale

highlights from Vegasit was my old friend rob's bachelor partyalso another member of the party was getting married as well(actually a handful of members of this fifteen man party were getting married and one that just eloped)stayed at the Mirage with two grooms to be and one otherI am one of the best man at one of the groom's weddingsthe other odd man out is the best man at both of the upcoming weddings

okay... Vegas highlights....the strip makes little sense in the dayit all explains itself once the sun setswhile the lights dance against the black sky while it all becomes more clearlike shooting pool in a smoky dive bar at noon... just not as comfortable when the sun comes in the front door

since shopping is not high on my list of pleasures I traveled to Vegas with a Frisbee and some mountain bike gearlots of mountain bike gearmore mountain bike gear than all other gear combinedalthough I have many frisbees I only brought oneasking all others to pack a frisbee

the afternoon of day one after arrival was set to be a Frisbee golf daythere are something like six Frisbee golf courses in the Vegas area….golfing in Vegas seemed like a good planthree members of our large bachelor party went down to the poolas four others went golfing properothers were checking inothers were yet to arriveafter some time at the pool three of us made our move to get a cab to go golfing… Frisbee golfingjust as we were about to step into a cab... our plans got high jacked by the would be golfers…golf ball golfers not frisbee golfiersapparently there was hectic trafficbumper to bumperthey dissuaded us from attempting this missionso we gathered for dinner

we went as a group for dinner at Frontiertwo different parties recommended Frontier for the best Mexican in Vegaswell… don't go to Vegas for Mexican food if Frontier offers the best… then Mexican in Vegas sucks(but… I am sure that there are great places to get Mexican… just not at Frontier... can not explain the dual wrong advice)

the first night in Vegas we discovered that a party of 10-15 people has about 100-150 different ideas of what should be doneeventually we all had to disband and move in separate directionsmost went to gamble at different tablesone guy went back to his room to recover from a coldwe had a party of five that went down to Circus Circus for some fun at the Midway gameson my first morning in Vegas I walked the strip going into various casinos trying to get a feel for things beyond the slot machinesCircus Circus had a really "kitschy" feel to itthe boardwalk style games kept us entertained but we realized we had set to meet back at the Mirage at a designated time so we cut our games shortmistake….. we should have kept the multiple groups rather than one large amoeboid masswe managed to win a few stuffed animalsas well catch some circus style performance in the middle ring with a spot light completeing the stageit was impressivesome classic acrobats from the old schoolthen there were some muscular men doing some poses that were very Cirque du Soleilonly with a little less attitudea little less mime (pandamonium)

we did not hear about the indoor amusement park till it was too latesaw it later from the Stratosphereyet did not manage to fit it into our tripbumper cars would have been fungo carts may have been more fun

we marched the strip back to the Miragethe night went on including drinks and confusionwe still were not clear what the agenda and desire of the whole group wasour final decisions tended to frustrate me as the group's goals were not always my goalsbeing a team player I went with the packonly to abandon everyone once my fears were proven true

as a group we went to Tangerinea swank night club at Treasure Islandpersonally I had not desire to go thereI am 38 and married while most of the people there were in their late 20's and singleeveryone at Tangerine was dressed in fancy club gear and well… I was dressed like meour party was also less "club".... more "casual"there was no meeting of the minds in this place for memy interests were of no interests to the folks at Tangerine and vice versaso I evacuatedspending more time in line then I spent in the bar… and we were not in line for that longluckily we had free passes that were given to me by one of the Vegas Kooks barking on one of the corners of the Vegas Stripend up going backdoing some simple math realizing that late in Vegas is even later for someone functioning on Eastern Standard Timeon the way back my bad habit of the midnight snack seemed to have more pull than the calling of my bedmy college buddy Tim and I shared an eighteen dollar sandwich…. sharing added a three dollar "sharing fee"ah…. VEGAS!it is all about the dollar in Vegas… well in most cases it is about the twenty

after a late night on the town I thought that I would be sleeping late the next daynow way baby…. I was up and active before 9am….was it the OXYGEN being pumped into the room?no… as that is a mythit was more a matter of my circadian rthyms being set on Eastern Standard Time as dictated by the wakings of my two young boyswith two members of our party still sleeping I dressed and went down to the casinos to scope things outthe buffet at Cravings looks qualityafter a little stroll around the casino I found two members of our party trying to earn back the money they lost the night priormade a call up to the roomwe all met at Cravings for a spectacular breakfast into lunch feastafter food we moved around town killing time till our afternoon mountain bike ride at Red Rocks Canyons

the strip in the day was filled with tourists hustling and bustling abouttaxi cabs trying to lure people into their cabs which would then drop people off at clubscorners filled with men and women handing out flyers, brochures, and business cards… all with wonderfully underdressed women drawing men's attentionthese same flyers littered the sidewalks and the streetslike the passing of a ticker tape paradeonly this is everydaythe paper trail covers the stripmost certainly the wind blows and carries these glossy advertisements into the desertsomewhere a canyon is becoming an unintentional landfillyes…. disgustingespecially after measuring the effectiveness of these flyers….. as everyone is done with them seconds after they touch their hands

snoopy and I were the only members of our party that were going mountain bikingrob and Trevor are also cyclists…. but… neither has been riding that much so they let us go at our pacethe van arrived on time and took us out to Red Rocks Canyon for an awesome ride through the desertmore to come on this later as I will try to create a full report on that ride and that ride alone

we returned from our ride refreshed and covered in dusteach of us had a number of pin holes from the cacti… but nothing that a rinse off and a dip in the pool would not repairwe cleaned up and went to the poolfrom the pool we went to the hot tub and then gathered with our party…. our party that was expanding as people arrived and checked in

almost failed to mention of the greatest highlights of the tripthat was the rides at the STRATOSPHEREontop of the Vegas version of the space needle are four ridesit was a rusha total blastgood thing we did this before our Samba dinnerpicture to follow!this story of the stratosphere will be expanded upon along with the mountainbike rideboth were an awesome rush

there was enough time to ride all of the rideseven enough time to ride the best ride twice, THE BIG SHOTmaking it back just in time for our reservations for a Brazilian feast at SAMBA

at sambawe had a table reserved for the full wedding partyKurt made the reservation and he made the right choicethe restaurant is in the Mirage so we did not have far to travelwe gathered for feast of various meats and Mojitos and Campirninaseveryone got full…. so full that even with these stiff drinks no one was getting stumbling drunkthere were some corny party favors floating around the table… some novelty handcuffs… a midget blow up doll… and other similar contraptions to set the bachelor party mood

after dinner there was more confusion of what was to happen nextagain there were a hundred and fifty different agendasnot everyone's needs could possibly be metat first we tried to migrate togetherbut then we lost various individuals to different drawssome went to play craps… others sought out Texas hold'em… and some even sat down at the slot machinesI moved with a group that wanted to try going to a clubso I went and got the free passes for a Club across the street in the Venetianupon meeting up with the group I informed everyone that the "free pass" is only good before midnightwe crossed over the Venetian just the sameonce in line at the club I looked at the line and I looked at myselfmidnight being three am eastern standard time did not help my moodthe option of a cover made no sense to meso I again abandoned shipone other member of the party joined me….we went downstairs to the casino to get a feel for slots and tables in slightly different arena

in no time at all my phone rang…the group in line also lost heart on club Vivid at the Venetian and came downstairssome people gambledsome people drankI drank more Jagermeister and did some people watchingoccasionally I dropped a quarter in a slot machine… but not much moreactually very few machines accepted coins…. most did not pay out in coinsit saddened me to see the arm of the one arm bandit slowly become a vestigial structureah… if people do not use the arm…. they will not make the armso much for the one arm bandit

some time passed and I was able to sell the option of the Midway games to our larger partylike fools we bypassed the cab option and made that same long trek down the strippeople were growing tired as it was getting latewhen we finally arrived at Circus Circus I was saddened to learn that the midway section of this casino closed at Midnightluckily the drinks were cheaper than at the other casinosso people got drinks and sought out the gambling options that met their desires

I too was growing tired…before knowing that the Midway was closed at Circus Circus I had one of our friends start his march solo from the Mirage where he was glued to the craps tableI called him and told him to stop walking… that we would meet him half wayother members of our party were leaving as well…two guys were grabbing a cab before us… I gave some advice… "be open to the options that the cabbie presents to you… who knows what fun you will find... we are in the desert... let the wind blow you like the tumble weed"or something to that effectmaybe without the mention of the tumble weedso the three of us marched out of the casino…. back to the strip… pointed back to the Miragea cab pulled upa familiar nasally voice came out of a cab window as it pulled up along side of usI had heard his sales pitch on several corners beforethis same guy... this same voiceeach time waving him awaysnoopy told me to take my own advicewe got inwe called for our waiting friendgot his exact location and picked him up

the cabbie wanted to take us to a clubhe had a dealhe would pay our cover and not charge us for the cabthis deal sounded too good to be truethis kinda deal sounded like it would have us face down in the desert with a bullet placed in the back of each of our headsbutwe got in and took the ridethere was also fear that we would be dropped off at some seedy cinderblock square where all the should be retired dancers workedbut I was wrong

the cabbies gets paid 50 bucks for each person they bring to the clubs…. bachelor parties being the biggest suckerswith a thirty dollar cover he would only make 20 bucks off each of usbutthat is 20 more than he would have made if he had picked up no riders at this timealong with paying our cover he also gave us some drink vouchersthe club was called Treasures… girls dancing… girls working the crowdit looked like some sort of palacewhile the women were doing a modern dance of the seven veils

we took some seats near the stage and took in the showit is an interesting studyI of course took on the whole event not as a participant but as a sociologistlike Jane Goodall it was Gorilla in the Mist… or perhaps I was a Gorilla in the Mistof a Smoke Machineit was fun even if we followed the rules

our energy tapered we got a cab homewe all climbed into our beds only to wake for another day

I woke refreshed againagain wondering about this Oxygen being pumped into the room mythwent downstairs and found our main bachelor at the slots againagain I petitioned for the buffet at Cravings… the price went up on weekends to 22.50campagne brunchafter doing the math on an omelet, coffee, and orange juice it still seemed like the best deal in towncalled up to the roomthe late sleepers met us for breakfastit was awesome

again not knowing what to do with the day I wished I had booked a second mountain bike tripbutdid not have the gumshion to make the call to try and setthings up this lateso I talked about the Frisbee golf option with the groupcome cell phone calls were madewe had five more players interestedI volunteered to get Frisbees while they lounged poolside

after a fulfilling breakfast I hit the strip….not one sport store in the mallnot one Marshall'snot one Ross Dress for Lessnot one souveneir store had a frisbee

I had covered some serious grounddid the Circus Circus loop and then someonly to return to the group with no Frisbeesa party of three grabbed our two lone Frisbees and then a cabonly to make a two minute stop right at Target to our pleasure they had a solid 175 Wamo Ultimate Discit was effortlessjust as well we did not drag the full party alongthree is better than 8 when playing Frisbee golfalthough I did wish that he main bachelor would have been able to attend

we arrived at Sunset Park and took in the lay of the courseit was flat and greennot the desert setting I was expectingyet it was beautiful just the samewe were right by the airport with the tall buildings of the strip not far within view and mountains in the distance surrounding usthe wind was blowing hardplanes were landing overheadthat was a variable that we all had to contend with... the wind... not the planesalthough there were a few wild tosses

it surprised me how many people were out playing disc golfwe were the only players who were not using "golf specific" discs

I am a single speeder version of a Frisbee golfera rigid single speeder at thatall three of us played with Ultimage discs intentionallyas it is our waywe played all 18 holesTrevor and snoopy taking a few holes to warm upI shot pretty much par across the boardmaybe a poor putt or two throwing me overour scoring had the lowest score on each hole set paras we initially had not intended upon writing down anything

we drove from the Am rather than the Pro distance due to the windI felt we all carried our own with the Ultimate Discseven if we did get looks and laughs from the locals with their golf bags with discs for dog leg left, dog leg right, putting, and driving long and straightjust as I do not know how to use the tool of the full suspension bikeI do not know how to maximize the potential of any of the various golf discs

after eighteen holesor should I say... after 18 chain baskets we decided to get dinner at the strip mall across the streeta mom and pop pizza joint served our needs wellit was no Cravings… but I still had the next morning for the all I cared to eat buffetafter our Strombolis we called a cab and moved to the parking lot for some more Frisbeewe got into our "70'style" with spins, jumps, and grabsafter some time I called a cab from another servicethen continued to throw the disc in the remaining lightthe late cab arrival gave us over an hour of fun chasing a Frisbee as the sun set over the mountains behind uswith planes landing over headnot a bad sightthe lights of the strip turning on as the day ended and the night startedit was a nice approachrevealing casinos we had not seen before.... Paris... New York New York... MGM Grand....all sort of amusement park rides and excessive archetecture

we returned to the hotel with only a little time to shower and change before our bus ride for the bachelor grand finallewe were going to another "gentleman's club"we went to Treasures the night prior… this night we were going to Sapphireah….not only do I get to play sociologist againbut I also get to play travel guide as I get to compare and contrast the merits of two very simialr yet different clubs

this night much like the night prioronly with a larger partyluckily the music was loud and the lights were dark so no one could tell how geeky and nervous we all were in this settingwe spent a few hours at the club taking in the sights then got a cab to take us back to the main striponce on the strip we marched on to a variety of other casinoswe went in some of the smaller ones and then a few larger onesgetting a drinkthe service was better but the waitresses were not as hotand the gentlemen's clubs were no buffet at Cravings

then back to the stripat the Bellagio we got to see the beautiful peopleat the Flamingo we got to see the sleeping flamingos and the African penguinsthere was gamblingfinally enough was enoughit was late and we were all tiredmore would have just meant more of the same

we went back to the Miragesome did some more gamblingsome went off to bedI went off to bed

only to wake for the final morning for a quick dash down to the poolthe wedding party chatteda multitude of pale bodies never intentending on getting tanwe exchanged tales from the night priorsome boasted about how much they wonothers boasted about how much they lostwe compared flights homewe laughed about the clubsthen with a hearty handshake I was back to the room then to catch a ride to the airportbut…. only after hitting Cravings one last timesure I risked missing my flightbut…. all I care to eat buffet! it would most definitely worth it

rather than a cab I caught the shuttlethe indirect route caused additional anxietycheck in lines kept my heart racingI move through the airport speedily only to hear my name on the loud speaker

in the end I make my flight on timenot being the last person to board.... but pretty darn close

fly homewhere I get to sleep in my own bedwake to the routine of being a dad in Washington DCahhome againmyth or no myth.... I think I would like a shot of OXYGEN to help me wake up each morning

Vegas....it was awesomeglad that I got to experience itnext time....book a second mountainbike tripandplay a desert frisbee golf course... if there is one

9.27.2005

9.26.2005

fred sanford's fantasyonly.... without that cool old truckand without that cool soundtrack in the background

tonight lisa had a work dinnerwhich left me playing the roll of mr. momI knew this day was coming so I had a mental picture of hanging at my dad'sthe pool season is coming to a closeI was seeking a few last swims before the pool closesstill some exposures left on that disposable underwater camera

the change of season forced a change of planscool air and rain made things less flexiblethe early darkness had Dean asking to swim at nightmy little four year old was expressing the same yearning for the pool at grandpa's as I wasyet adding the excitment of swimming in the dark with the lightsthis is something he has not done this yearamazes me to think that he is basing these ideas off his memories from last summerit is curious how much a young child remembers from the years beforesometimes i think that each year they experience things for the first time againbut then they come up with a reflection that reveals memories from long agowelllong ago in their life span

it is a short drive from my house to my dad'sa few miles max.... maybe 4..... maybe 6while working with rush hour traffic towards my father house I noticed a pile of trash on the curb as I turned down bradley blvdcountry club on one side... beautiful million plus homes on the other....this trash was not recycling, bags of leaves, or the basic trash canit was what looked more like the product of some "spring cleaning"then further down the block there was another pile very similara wide smile cloaked my face

I turned back to Dean and Grant and told them that we would be making a pass through this neighborhood on the way home for a little Trash or Treasuretwice a year... once in the fall and once in the spring this neighborhood has a bulk trash pick up that ends up being a scavengers's dream

the evening at my father's was a pleasuremy dad loves to play hosthe cooked various finger foods for me and the boysit was a strange combination of some frozen foods, some left overs, and other pantry snacksmilk in spiderman cups or juice in an equally cool Nemo cup with a built in accordian straw

after dinner there was a moviedean wanted power rangersI vetoed and requested Dr Suessdean objectedI held my groundmy dad blamed me when dean protestedgrant had no interest in the tv screenyoung grant took a moment to bond at my side then back to the various toys a grandpa'shis selections were noisybam bam was doing some slamming so loud with a toy hammer as he forced the square pegs through the round holes(well.... not really.... but more interesting to say that than to try to describe the toy he was playing with)so even as dean's interest got peaked he could not hear the dialogue

so I moved grant's attention to some less audible toyshis favorite'....... "cars"at grandpa's there are some metal cars on the shelfthe lesser models are permited for play

with grant entertained my father and I discussed the film quizing him on what may happen nextdean has never seen he filmbut we have read the books so he answered accurately with detail and pride to each questionwe all watchedmy father and I discussed the morals of each storydean watched and asked vearious questions while answering various questions

with the Sneeches, the Zaxs, and Green Eggs and Ham behind us we said our good byes and pointed for homewell... pointed for home with a detour

I made my way towards the host of this Trash or Treasure experience with the anticpation of a kid trick or treating in a neighborhood rumored to hand out full candy bars at each and every housewith very few houses skipped in between

Dean and Grant were in the back seatthunderball's first record was playing on the cd playerdean amused me when the songs changed and a familiar voice started to "toast"dean informed me that the man singing is the man that painted our housesure enoughHutchie was doing his thingI asked dean if he knew his name.... he did notI told him his name was Michael Hutchinson (no... not from INXS)but that some people call him "hutchie"dean is a very four year old sort of way asked why people call him that

as we talked and listened to the music I weaved my way through the affluent suburban neighborhoodthe rain fell steady and slowI weaved my car in an effort to get a better visual of piles of rich man's rubbish as I traveled down the blockthere was a curious number of people walking their dogsunfamiliar with the daily events of this neighborhood I am not clear if they are on a regularly scheduled walk or a curious cruise through the trash or treasure themselves

there is a weber kettle at every other pilea gas grill with potential good years in their future at every third pilethat is a lot of grillsthere are doors that have never been hunglugage and chests are almost as popular old shelvesmy eyes scan for circles and pipesyes... I am transparentI am shopping for bicyclesthis is not to say that bb guns, surfboards, and acoustic guitars are not welcome as well

a tiny tikes kids play work bench is my first scoreit is not long before dean is playing with an old tennis racketin good shapemore than likely the venir had been in tact before the evening's raingrant and dean giggle as they take turns using the racket as a mesh mask

the car stops as soon as it startsthe small wheel fools me... it is a golf cart carriagethe wheelbarrel is obviousthe tricycle is missing a wheel.... making it a bicycle but not useful to me

not sure which came first but they filled the car fastskiies and trail a bikethe folding alley cat trail-a-bike looks like a good scorealthough the mount may be more a hassle to find than just buying a new systemthe cross country skiies are beautiful wood.... norwegian wood like the beatles songwell norwegain skiies.... which is not a beattles song.... but they are from norwaytoo beautiful to let go to the dumpI think of a corner to put them or a wall to adorn

a few more loops a few more turnsthe norditrack is temptingnot to mention sticking with the xc themebut I know myself well enough to know they will not usedI consider calling my brotherbut that would take testing and trying the old work out gear in the rainthen giving him my word that it would be worth his timeI forgoe the callthere are other tempting stopsa stray wheelsome road tireslots of other stuff I will never need or never useall left behindeven after the thought of Chain Reaction

on my indirect way back to the city I see a full bike with a small adult frametoo small for me but worth a lookfenders and rack bent tubes for the old frameas I get closer I see it is an old three speednot a thumb shifter... a three speed gear shifter is mounted on the top tubeit was an old Herculesred paintno rustair gone from the tires but in solid shapeI lifted the old beast onto my thule rackthe connection was not goodbutit seemed like it would hold for a short trip

I got back in the car and argued in my head if the bike was solid without it locking in placeI slowly rolled forwardthe bike fell lose from he rackI quickly stopped the car and got outtrying to save my car and my rackas I removed the bike from the rack dean started to yellhe wanted this bikeI explained that it was too large for himthat it did no work for this rackhe thought the bike looked coolI had to be more persuasive

in and effort to distract him i tried to make it clear that our big scores were the trail a bike and the toy tool benchthat this bike did not work for usI returned the bike to the sidewalknot the same rubbish pilea pile across the street and down the block a house or two

with a glance at the car and the rack I felt better to know I did not trash my new rack in an effort to collect some trash

we drove homegrant was asleep before we crossed the dc line into rock creek parkwe were minutes from homeafter I put the boys to sleepI then unloaded the carhid my score in the basementas I do not want to push my luckdumpster diving and las vegas is too much pleasure for one man to have in one week

ah....if only I owned a barnI would swoop on through grabbing all the fishbowls, all the doors, all the shutters, all the old bathroom vanities, all of those things that I would never use or never needbut grabbing them just in case

personal spaceairplane rides can really suckespecially for someone over 5'2"the flights to and from Vegas were longthe flight back was not directthe leg from Phoniex to DC I had the pleasure of sharing half my seat with some joker who had no respect for my personal space

getting on the plane the joker in the middle seat tried to play a human shell gametrying to place himself into the window seat that was reserved for methe window seat that would allow me to daydream out the window as well as offer me someplace to lean myonce seated he had claimed the arm rests on both sidesonce seated I told him that it would be fine for him to use the arm rest... but that I would perfer for him to stay out of my "air space"we made slight pleasant conversation.... yet he failed to respect my spacehis chubby arms were hanging over the armrest into my space at times pressed against my body

it was clear I was trying not to make contact with himalso trying not to have conflict with him

a little past halfway through the flight I took a walk to the bathroomafter returning to my seat and sitting down I took a comfortable seatmy arm rested in a natural position resting on the arm rest

it was awkwardcomfort was only partial at this pointas I could never fully relaxnow he was forced to retract his armhe was forced to lean forward to the seat in front of himhe was forced to experience all of the discomfort that he had put me throughit seemed fair... I was not trying to teach lessons nor was I trying to punish himI was not even trying to take what is rightfully mineI was just trying to be comfortable for part of my flight

honestly...had this been a woman with soft skin and a pleasant smell the contact would not have been such a botherbut imagine a short chubby mark mcguire... that was who I was sitting next to on this flighthe was wearing his work out gear.... body armor shirt and those balloon weight lifter pants that make driving an IROC-Z so much more coolwhat makes his work out gear even more cool.... his body showed no sign of ever working out.... well... other than sweat and smellhe was moistdisgustingly moistall of which was made worse as he was inconsiderateinconsiderate of my right to space

there was never a point where he seemed like he was going to give me an inchnot even the inch that was rightfully minehe was burly.... burly in a short fat sort of wayif he were not a victim of the obessity epidemic he would not have been taking up so much of my spaceodd that he did not realize or care that I was nearly a foot taller with broader shoulders forced to take up less space because he was overflowing into my spacewellnot until I claimed the armrest for myselfit was a guilty pleasure that offered little pleasureI felt like a childfearing if I raised my arm for a second he would take the armrest backcausing me to then whine and call out for the stewardess like a baby calling out to their mom to settle a dispute with an unfair older brother

eventually the guilt set in and I moved forward and offered him the arm restnot sure what went through his head as he was without itbut I knew what went through mine when he dominated the comfort zoneso I gave it backI had also ordered the last Phoniex Cheesesteak (pay meal)his response was clear.... so I ordered something elsethis was far prior to my taking the arm rest

don't get me wrong I usually reach for the larger slice of chocolate cakecontrary to my daily experiences I also like to avoid conflictso I tried to be as understanding as possiblemaybe on his next flight he will be less likely to be so prone to hogging the armrestworse yet hanging over someone else's chair

so beyond no inflight meal being providedbeyond not having such a great view of the inflight moviebeyond my sasquach sized body being crammed into a seat built for an Ump Lumpa...I had to rub elbows with some sweaty salesman

Bikes for Clydesdales...it always entrigued me that the bicycle manufacturers would spec out their bikes with the same equipment for a 16' frame as they would for a 21" frameas if these riders should use the same crank lengthas if these riders should use the same level forkas if these riders exerted the same amount of force on their bikes

Kona is thinking how I thinka few years ago they came out with the HOSS BIKEShere is the HOSS DEE-LUXkona makes a great bikeowned two of themloved how they worked their way through the single track

the next notion for the Clydesdale(and maybe any professional basketball player out there)would be to move to the 29 Inch Wheel bikethat is what I did a few years pastand ya know whatmy wonder full little 26 inch wheel bikes are like toys compared to the 29erontop of the 29 inch wheel... my Karate Monkey is a 22 Inch Frame!I never had a 22" frame on a 26" bikewowit is great having a bike that fitsstill learning to control its mighty powerbutit has to be differentwith all its advantages there are disadvantagesall things saidI am a convertthe 29er is my new religion

bachelor party: who is rob?rob is an old friend of mine....in high school we skated together, we rode bikes together, we hung out togetherthere were hair cuts, hair dye, he pegged my pants, he lent me his bondage pantsthere were lots of punk shows then a few moreafter high school we continued to hang out as we both went to college in the state of Marylandmanaged to tour on the bikes for 5 weeks in Europemanage to connect when I rode my motorcycle cross country a year later; stayed with him on a ranch in Wyoming... cool place... I should have stayed longerthen years later he visited me in Colorado while I visited him in San Franciscothat is a lot of states and maybe a few more zip codes

lots of bikeslots of yak-a-dee-yaklots of yada-yada-yada

for some reason we each returned east like faithful little boomerangsagain we hung outbeers in the barsbikes in the woodssome races and more rideslots of wacky times...we ran into Brook Shields while riding the trails of Old Angler's Innwe did our first 24 Hour Race together... well... he wrenchedwe saw all sorts of punk bands before you could buy punk in a mallwe talkedrob has always been one of my favorite ears to chewhe has been good therapy for mebefore the blog... there was rob

this weekend should be a blastoddly... rob will not be renting a bike while in Vegas, guess he does not want to lose his spot by the poolwho knows where this weekend will take us...it should just be another epic story to rest in the already tall stack of epic tales of me and rob doing what we do

maybe i will tell some of these tales later when they come naturally to me

9.20.2005

I am going to have to breeze over this posting....it may wander around a bit as it was written late last night after a few glasses of red wine with an old friend

TONIGHTtonight I attended a candlelight vigil in my neighborhood of Mount Pleasantit was a gathering to mourn the death of an individual, Greg Snipeandit was a gathering to stand together as a community and wonder how we could let this happen to usone of our neighorsright in front of one of our housesa person just like youyes, a person just like me

he was just walking his dogjust like I walk my dogs?

no one knows what really happened in the moments leading up to the shooting other than god, greg, and the person or persons who held the gun to Greg's face

this is a tradgedy for greg, greg's family and friends, and to a community that wants to feel safe in their own neighborhood

where does this leave us?

do we become prisoners in our homes?do we rationalize and discuss statistics?

a bullet to the face causing a fatal injury every two years is not a bad average

wellthat is once too often a year for me

like the handling of the flood in New Orleansour police and our guiding officials respond after the factrather than seeing things coming beforehand

finding the individuals who caused this crime is one thingpreventing the next crime is anothereach has its weighteach has its importanceeach needs to be done

the seasons are changingit is getting darker soonerwhat are the precautions?how late is lateas the dark arrives earlier?

how late is it safe for my wife to go runninghow late is it safe for me to walk my dogscan I walk to the neighborhood baris it safe for me to walk to Adams Morgan and backdoes my urban walk keep me safe...do I need to walk talking on my cell phone like so many people seem to do(like it creates an electronic force field keeping all criminals at bay)I already travel with just an ID and my money when I am not on my bike... what else should I do?kiss my family good by and make sure my will is up to date every time I leave the house

things to think about

gregory snipe someone I do not know/someone I will never know died at the hands of anotherfor what I would say is no reason at allstory on nbc4.com/ msnbc.coma person should feel safe to walk their dog at 11PM on a saturday nightthere are some freedoms that should be a given

the vigil...walked past my old place on Lamont Street where I lived with my family pre-Dean... pre-Grant our first place togetherpre-marriagein so many ways... pre-adulthoodcaught some old friends walking their dog... asked if they were headed to the vigil... we put Maggie the dog away and we headed up the block togetherjust me, my old neighbor john, and his grade school age daughter karadown Lamont across Mount Pleasant Street to the Mount Pleasant Libraryas we started getting closer we could see a long line of people walking with candles in their handspasserbys watched with question in their eyes

we had missed the "town meeting" by the time we arrived at the libraryI got what turned out to be the very last candleyes... the very last candleI offered to share with Karatook part in the procession with candle in hand along side kara and her father johnJohn and I lived as neighbors for more than five yearsfive years of chance meetings and many intentional that built a solid friendshipit was good to share this experience with an old friendour meetings are too far between as we are no longer immediate neighborswe walked togetherI held the candle as Kara could not walk with the candle without blowing it outthe people behind us were feeling lost from the pack

there was some silencethere was some catching upalong with Kara we all tried to piece together what had happened with Gregory Snipe on this fateful night just days agoas we passed the 7-11 we turned down a side streetthere was a pause as people read the REWARD sign that hung in the doorway of his old apartment buildingI know people that live in this buildingthis was the first chance for me to put a face with the namethe face that was blown away at point blank range just last saturday nightsounds like the moviesbut this is not the movies... this is real live... this is my neighborhood

we also paused on the steps to absorb the image on the REWARD sign25,000 Dollar Reward.it was like an open casket funerala few more turns we are on Irving streetmany familiar facessome who I knewmany who I had never seen beforesome I had seen before but never heard their voices beforeall with candles in handsome walking with their dogs along side of themwe walk down the hill with the National Cathedral within view in the distancelights and cameras are everywheresatelitte and microwave trucks and local reportersI question if everything should be documented... then agree to myself that this story should be told

the parade lumps around the spot where the murder occuredpeople on this block of Irving are witnessing the event from their porchessomewhat how they had witnessed the senseless death just days prior

we listened some emotional speakersalthough the megaphone was pretty much DC's finest and did not extend the distance of the crowdperhaps silence was more appropriate than some sort of political rhetoricwe all joined in silencesome prayedsome reflectedwe all remained silent as we stood together in the middle of a road that usually hosts some fast moving traffic

after the speakers everyone drops their candles in a pile along side a makeshift memorial of flowers that rest where Greg Shipe was killedthen we move along on our waypolice officers and politicians shake my hands and thank me for showing up as I departI shake their hands... look them in the eye... nod and move along my waywondering if they are actually going to do anything to prevent these things from happening again

I have tried to be proactive...although I am not a whistle blower I have made some callsthere was a time not long ago I was coming down the lamont streetthat same street where I lived for over 5 yearsdown two blocks were a few people that seemed suspiciousthey were moving my wayI altered my pace slightly to try and make the corner and the turn before themin the distance I hear a hello... in a question tone... "hey.... like wait up"with no intention of waiting up I made the turn as they picked up the pacewas able to make it to the more trafficked corner of Park and 18tha car rolled bythey went straight while I turned againthey were goneI used my cell and called 911calling in the suspicious three men I avoiding encounteringasked for an officer in the Mount Pleasant areamore questionsmore questionsall these questions and no actionby this time I was in the clearbut othersthe officer on the other end was asking questionsdo I need a bullet in my head for the police to respond?

should we go with our guteven if our gut reaction is not PC?

still on the phone I tried to advise an officer in the area to do a drive bystill more questionsI was getting no whereI was homewhat does it take for them to respondafter the fact is always too late

a few other times I have called to police to ask about police cruisers cruising way too fast without lights or sirensthey always feed me some linethe long and the short of it....when someone gets run overit makes no different who ran them overcop or civilianeveryone needs to drive in controlnot Mount Pleasant Michigana place I have never been by some people from MichiganI have never been to Michiganwhy are they making fun of me for living in a place I have never been?

it was good catching up with John and Karait has been too longguess we will see them on Halloweenas their block which used to be our block as wellshuts down on Halloween and has a huge party for young and old

john and I got to cover some good memories, some good insight, some good drinks, and well... I tried to clean up his Windows 98 machinethat and talk him into getting a new computeralso trying to get him to get a new bikewhile at johns drinking his wine... I also grabbed a New York Times Sunday insert that had a story on Bono

last night it happened againit does not happen enoughbut I love it when it doesthere I was out cruising on my bike on the Mt Vernon traillooking over across the Potomac River at the monumentswatching how the dark sky reflected off the water while the marble buildings reflected what little sun remainedthere it wasright along side of mea massive great blue heron or so I guessas I am not a bird watcherI am a cyclistthis great bird coasted along side of menot as close as I would hopebut still an amazing vision just the samelike my own little Winged Migration video playing live in front of my eye

9.19.2005

VW Passat Adthe other night I caught an ad on the televisiona cyclist is out on a night ride...his halogen headlamp goes on the fritzhe is without light on a winding road that lacks street lightsa car comes up fast behind himthe car brakesthe cyclist waves him onthe car driver sees the situation and slows downthe car winds down the road behind the cyclistallowing his lights to illuminate the road in front of the cyclist

this reminds memy Niterider headlamp has been on the fritztried sending it back durning the wintergot no response after requesting an RMA number on their websitespaced outgot injurednever realized this until the days started getting shorterand wellI saw this ad

I better get in touch with the folks at Niterider and see if this light can be fixedit was broken out of the boxmaybe they will let me upgradethe HID lights are sweeeet!

Katoy or Katoey-no matter how you spell it... it spells troublethe other night I met up with some friends for some Thai food actually.... I had already eaten so... I met up with some friends for a social gathering at a Thai restaurantupon arrival I sat down and was greeted by a tall, slender, provocatively dressed waiter eye contact was made my drink order was taken before I crashed into the rocks by the call of the siren I shook my head and I woke up then turned to the three friends who had arrived before me and asked....

"is that a man?"

apparently they had not discussed this yet the one woman at the table took immediate agreement the two men... agreed with hesitation and rethought their prior assessment of the waiter

my drink cameI accepted my whiskey and coke without any further eye contact

hot yes... female noscared? dam straight I was scared

being that we were in a Thai restaurant just a few blocks from Dupont Circle as just icing on the cake to validate my assumption

Bono gets carded at DC Bar(actually he is asked to pay a cover charge) recently I heard a storysimple enough....Bono walks into a bar (yes, sounds like a joke)he is stopped by the door manthe door man asks Bono to pay the ten dollar cover chargenot sure how to respond Bono smiles and takes a step backwith a diplomatic smile he says... "come on.... do you know who I am?"to that the doorman responds... "yes, I know who you are... that will be ten dollars"my feeling.... this doorman had no idea who this person was that stood in front of him

I know that people like to try and treat celebrities like normal peoplethen there are those of us that like to try and snub the celebrities that we do not likebutthis was not Cher or Paris Hiltonnot even Richard Gear whose motives to assist Tibetian refugees has been questionedthis is Bono... a spiritual individual who is on a quest to feed Africaanyone would be honored to have him as a guest in their housecertainly anyone who owns a restaurant or a bar would be honored to serve himBono is not one to be snubbed....well, maybe during his Tour or his ACTUNG BABY or ZOOROPA(which were both great records... But had a beyond ROCK STAR flamboyance to them)butat this stage of the game....this man met with the Pope John Paul IIhe has recently tried to work with the president of the United States(and Condi Rice)there have been gatherings with Tony Blair and Bill Gatesthere are certainly more

DID I MENTION... BONO IS TRYING TO FEED AFRICA?be for real....

chances are this guy let in a few little underage college freshman because they had tight asses a few minutes earlier that nightheck... they did not need tight asses... they just had to be femaleso to stop Bono at the door and refuse him entrancejust seems unlikely that he recognized him

now I was not therebutthat is my take on a story that I heard third hand

perspectiveonce again I need to put things in perspectiveonce again I ask that we all put things in perspective

this morning my focus has not been on work but rather on catching up with Jake Walther's story

Jake is a kindered spiritalthough I have never met him I know that he is my kind of personhis life is on an unorthadox pathfrom the sports he chooses, to the way he travels, to the jobs that employ himJake is one of a kindsadly Jake's path has taken a sad turnJake was seriously injured in a motorcycle accidenthe is currently a quadraplegic

fuck.... I HATE CRYING AT WORKit does not look goodit does not feel goodbut I can not contain myselfJake's story is too tragicor is itJake is moving forwardJake is a fighterJake is a survivorJake's spirits are highJake is fighting to recoverJake is staying positive

lets all stay positiveJake's story is not over... he is working hard at recoveryJake is drivenlets all hope that this accident and this injury are just set backs in Jake's life

my heart goes out to the man that lost his life for no reason at allI grieve for the friends and family of this manmakes me realize how fragile life is.... both on and off the bike

this incident is sending the wrong messagewe are not to be prisoners in our own houseswe should feel free and safe to walk the streets of our own neighborhoodswe should be carefulbutwe should not be scared

Vigil for Gregory Shipe to be held September 20, 2005Meeting at the Mount Pleasant Library A candle lit procession is scheduled to leave the library at 8:45 arriving at the 1700 block of Irving at 9PM

9.18.2005

Cross Bikes/Cross RacesI am currently between cross bikesmy Jamis Nova (lime green, 4-6 years old) has served me wellbut has hit that fatal "law of diminishing returns"so I have started shoppingright now it looks like I am centered in on the Specialized Tri-Cross Compthat is the recommendation of my "peeps" at City Bikes in Chevy Chase

the Cross Nationals are right around the cornerbut honestly.... this event is not on my radar

this year I can not let cross season slip past me!will have to make a concious effort to schedule something this fallmaybe there is some URBAN CROSS.... I love the Urban Cross format and feeljungle cross is all well and goodand honestly... deep wet grass and sod are not for the big guy

the 12 Hours of Lodi Farms event is raising money for a the Jake Walther Trusthere is a Blog about Jake's situationhe was injured doing something he loved; motorcyclingagain a reminder how fragile our bodies really are

9.17.2005

The Question Mark Guy-living in the city you get to see all typesthere is one character that I see around from time to timethe Question Mark GuyI see him at Tryst getting coffeeI see him on late night tv in informercials trying to sell his bookthere are other times when I see him ziping around town in his question mark covered Mini Cooperthen there are times like today when I see him rolling around town in some flashy clothes with his equally excentricly dressed female friend riding on the back on a scooterthe question mark guy wearing a a question mark covered helmetwhile his passenger on the back weards no helmet at allthus allowing her spikey hair to match well to her mini-skirt dress covered with Anarchy symbols in a very '77 Punk sort of way

I must admit.... I like his style and I do like FREEbutI have my doubts about his book getting me anything at all

International Walk to School Day-web linksure this is not possible for everyonebuteveryone should be conscious of their activity or perhaps their inactivitythe No Child Left Behind program has cut the physical education budgettaking gym down to one day a weekamazing that our government can sit back idlywhile we are in a fat person large car crisis...we need to take blame for our own behavioror in some caseswe need to take blame for our lack of behaviorGwadzilla Archive about International Walk to School Week last year

About Me

if you want to know about me all you need to do is check out my BLOG
it is not the same everyday or everyweek
the focus changes and alters with my moods and with the events of the day and the events of my life